What Happens Now With Dwight Howard?

So it looks like the Dwight Howard–to–the–Nets talks really are over, for the time being at least. The Daily Newsis reporting that Howard has been told by the Magic that they won't be trading him to Brooklyn, while an unnamed Nets source tells ESPN: "We've moved on. It just got to a point where we couldn't keep going back and forth with Orlando. They had about 14 days to do something and didn't." So what happens now?

• Orlando's GM said today that he didn't think talks with the Nets were necessarily over — via the Orlando Sentinal, he described the talks as being in "a stationary position" because the Nets haven't made an offer worth taking — but if the Nets say they're out, it doesn't much matter what Orlando thinks about the status of the negotiations.

• ESPN also reports that Rockets and Lakers had re-joined the Nets yesterday as serious trade partners, and that Houston has a number of offers on the table. According to that report, Houston could deal for Howard directly, or could be involved in a three-team trade in which Howard goes to the Lakers and Andrew Bynam ends up with the Rockets.

• Meanwhile, Marc Stein reports that Portland and Charlotte have both informed Brook Lopez's camp that they're prepared to sign him to a four-year maximum offer sheet. If he signs an offer sheet, he can't be involved in a trade for Howard at this time.

• However, the News presents the following scenario: If Lopez returns to the Nets, and Howard remains with Orlando once the season begins — the first of those things, at least, is likely — then talks could restart in January, once Lopez is eligible to be traded again.